The Mickey Boats Wait for Sunset
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Relics at the Edge of the World
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I like the analogy of time, as illustrated by the shorelines, the rising and falling tides and winds - and how they inevitably decay whatever we build there. There's an awesome predictability to it. Just as the salt-air, waves and tides wear away at beachside structure, the waves of time do the same to us!
Heat
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Why is the Rum Gone?
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I wonder how many people wake up in Gulf Shores sometime early morning or late night and see the boardwalk area like this :)
The Creepy Dude at the Pier
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A couple weeks ago I was at the Gulf State Pier, by myself. I had one of these really awesome awkward moments. I had walked around the pier and taken a bunch of shots with my littlier camera (The Sony NEX-7). Photographers were out. A few of the professional types but mostly moms, dads, uncles with cameras shooting family and friends.
That's how I judged it, anyway.
As I was leaving, this lady was setting up her camera on a tripod and her husband and kids were obediently in line against a sea-oat fence. They were clearly related because of similarity in age and the more obvious fact that they all matched, clothing wise. A DIY family portrait session in progress. She was awkwardly fidgeting with the tripod and camera. Since I happened to walk by, I offerered, "Hey if you'd like to jump in there, I can take a shot for you with you all in the shot."
She sized me up. Bald - fat guy with a crappy looking camera. Boat shoes that have been repaired at the Shoe Hospotal too many times, walking alone on the beach with a camera. "Uhh, well, uhh.. I just gotta, you know.. get this setup and.. uhh... well, and ug..."
Yeah, she thought I was a creeper. That's how I suspect she judged it, anyway.
I lingered for a moment, probably too long before it hit me, then threw the customary, "Well, you guys have a great night!" at her husband with a wave to her and went on about my business.
It reminds me of a lesson I learned in High School. It's really easy to walk around with a pissed off look on your face so that people leave you alone. It is work, on the otherhand, to commit random acts of kindness with strangers.
I'll work harder at it next time :)
He's Watching Me
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..but the disconcerting portion is I don't have control of what he sees.
Will he see me when I treated a stranger with kindness? or,
Will he see me when I hang up the phone from the telemarketer, annoyed and frustrayed? or,
Will he see me when I pray? or,
Will he see me when I speak unkindly about my coworkers, a boss, "those assholes in Washington"? or,
Will he see me when I play with him? or,
Will he see me when I spend all night working? or,
Will he see me when I donate to charity? or,
Will he see me when I grab that second, third glass of wine to take the edge off? or,
Will he see me when I drive cautiously to the store? or,
Will he see me when I flip that redneck off for turning in front of me?
You just never know what they'll see but they are watching you.
Consider your character in the eyes of the innocent instead of contributing to the loss of that innocence.
-Rick Peavy
The Blue Domes of Destiny
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These are the Radomes on the bow of Disney's Dream. It was extraordinarily windy out here at times, even with the cleverly-placed wind shields on the bow. I will freely admit that I'm no expert with regard to radar.
However, in training for a Ham Radio license years-and-years-ago, I did learn a thing or too about electromagnetic radiation in general. Enough, that I wouldn't choose to sit on the chairs beneath these radar domes.
Yet, probably every time I came to the bow of the boat, it was empty save for a person or two (sometimes a couple) lounging in the chairs beneath them.
Reminds me of:
In Men in Black 3, Josh Brolin in the 1960's talks on a futuristic wireless phone. Will Smith's advice to him is: "Don't put that thing to your head man!!"
... I believe the same applies here on the radar arrays of a cruise ship. Yet, folks seemed to have no problems lounging beneath them (in the chairs molded into their bases). Not me, I'll get my brain radiated the old fashioned way, microwaving popcorn and talking on a cellphone.
The Golden Hallway
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On board the Disney Dream, these hallways snaked between the shops and the Walt Disney Theater. The lighting and reflections were really quite cool to see.
Happy Independence Day!
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I've never actually tried to shoot fireworks before (even at Disney), so I decided to set up the tripod this evening and give it a whirl at our cookout.
I hope your Independenace Day Festivities were safe and fun!
Happy Birthday Miles
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Four years ago, we were prepping for some beach-side fun and fourth of July festivities when my son, Miles, decided it was time to be born a little better than a week early.
Hapy Birthday to my little buddy Miles!
Welcome to Bimini Bobs
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The trouble with eating seafood on the Gulf Coast, is you always end up making a trade-off.
You can pick. Amazing Seafood. Outstanding Atmosphere/Location. Great Service. Reasonable Cost.
These are all available from Gulf Coast restaurants but you can usually only pick one, not all of them.
We knowingly headed to such a trade-off, yesterday as we went to The Hangout in Gulf Shores after a disappointing portrait session. (More on that session, in a later post) We received our pager, a 30 minute wait-time estimate and settled in for some overpriced, mediocre food in a playful atmosphere and great location. That's what we've come to expect from The Hangout and what we were prepared for. An hour later, we received an updated seating estimate of another 30-40 minutes. Annoyed, (and a little confused by the massive crowds on a Monday) we departed The Hangout and set out for something else.
What we found, redeemed the evening for us.
Located near the marina office & outfitter store on the West Side of The Wharf in Orange Beach, on the Intracoastal Canal, sits Bimini Bobs. I'll summarize and say: It is awesome. Go There.
When I kept Stargazer at The Wharf, this location was "Shuckers Restaurant". I spent many hours at Shuckers for lunch on days when I would work from my sailboat. Shuckers was really decent overall, though they had the ironic distinction of having terrible oysters, which -- given their name -- would have been unforgivable had the other food not been pretty decent.
Shuckers was a "very good atmoshphere", "decent food", "okay service", "good price" sort of place on the trade off-scale. They moved.
What we found at Bimini Bobs was a cozy, relaxed atmosphere, whose quietness was a welcome respite from the obnoixous touristy-ness you find down on the Gulf-front. The table/ dining areas are broken up with these really comfortable table / chair sets that really makes the layout of the restaurant feel less restaurant-y and more "just chillin' with my buddies at the docks"-y.
"A Excellent Atmosphere", "Awesome Food", "Epic Service", "Great Price" sort of place now occupies the dockside restaurant area of The Wharf. Bimini Bob's. Seriously, go there.
The service was fantastic. There may have been more employees than customer seats, actually, though I didn't count. We gave them plenty of opportunity to be annoyed with us, showing up only 30 minutes before close and my kids' usual liesure dining pace. (Color some... eat a bite... color some more.. eat a bite.) Hell, they are my kids and *I* get annoyed with how they eat. My phone vibrating every three seconds with some professional emergency here and there didn't help either.
But the good service just kept coming. Genuine smiles, attentive service. We weren't rushed, our food was timed appropriately and the drinks stayed full.
The food was great. The appetizer combo tray of hummice, smoked crab dip & shrimp salad had complimentary flavors and plenty of good pita chips to eat with it. Fish was light and flakey, not overcooked, with a desirable crust. My wife's shrimp, the kid's burgers -- all great.
And the price was less-than-expected. For a trip to The Hangout, 2 adults, 2 kids, we where looking at $90 if I didn't order a beer with the meal, before gratuity. Same party at Bimini Bobs, an appetizer, entrees and two beers we came in right at half-that.
The new layout of the restaurant adds or improves by having fewer tables and more "chill" areas like those pictured here. Not sure if the Marina Company or Restaurant is to thank for this but either way -- it is awesome and works to create a very nice environment right on the Canal, overlooking the fuel docks and Marina.
Look, I don't get paid / this isn't sponsored but when I see somebody do something well, I like to see them get credit. And the folks at Bimini Bobs did a great job of serving us a great meal in a very coastal-chill atmosphere after a frankly otherwise crappy day. :) Did I mention, you should go check it out?
The Lighthouse at Nassau
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The thing I liked most about our recent trip on the Disney Dream, was waking up each morning and walking out on the verandah to find a new scene waiting on me. After my late-night exploration trip on the boat itself, the next morning presented this view as we pulled into Nassau. Credits to Dina for this shot. We snapped about a dozen shots with different cameras and different lenses, each but I'm pretty sure that this shot is one of hers.
The Approaching Thunderhead..
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I sat with my elbows on the pier railing, steading the shot without my tripod. Lightning was starting to strike and the frequency of the thunder had begun to change as it got closer to where we were. Most people had retreated to their cars or gone home.
An older lady walked past me, "You know you have your arms in fish guts, right?" (She nodded to the rail)
I've spend enough time on piers that I am familiar with the common practice and apparent danger related to fisherman cleaning bait in the pier rails. She then muttered something about getting struck by lightning, again.. and walked off towards the beach and park area.
I thought to myself that someone standing on a pier during a lightning storm and mentioning to strangers that she'd been struck by lightning once before is probably looking for attention. Alas she had already left so I couldn't oblige. All that was left was me, my camera, my fishgut-covered arms and a pretty beautiful bit of approaching atmosphere.
The Port at Nassau
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The morning we woke up at port in Nassau, I knew it was going to be a sketchy day, for me anyway. Not quite-a-hangover and not quite food poisoning, I think on Cruise Ships it is called Norovirus and it had my stomach knotted up tighter than the beads of the hair-braiders we encountered at Port. Still, I didn't want to show my discomfort too much and I soldiered through as we opted to explore Nassau, as least superficially.
I'd like to have explored Nassau more thoroughly but having kids along, limiting cruise departure times and knotty-stomach-syndrome equated for a grumpy and anxious version of me that wasn't up for exploring more than a couple of miles from the port. We took in a museum (whose creepy(ish) pirate displays scared the crap out my little girl and walked around the streets and maket areas a bit before returning to the cruise ship.
I snapped this shot after clearing local customs to head back to the ship, on the way back.
Standing there then - and even now -- I can't help but wonder, what was this place like before Atlantis came in?
Does the presence of Atlantis help or hurt the local economy, does it make these shop owners and vendors more desperate or does it act as attraction enough to help feed their appetite for tourist money?
One thing's for sure. The crowded / noisey streets we encountered weren't the stuff postcards are made of but had plenty of character. How much of that genuine, regional character got lost to make room for trinket stores could prove as an interesting object lesson for economies focused heavily on tourism, like ours on the Gulf Coast.
Fishing for a Sunset
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I went fishing for a Super-Moon, she went fishing for an epic sunset. Looks like she's got a catch.